Crave (15 page)

When everyone trooped outside to the private pier, I was worried that I'd be the only one to sit in the shady area where the shoreline trees overhung the pier and lake house. All the dancers chose to strip down to their bikinis and roast themselves on towels by the water. But Vicki and Keisha sat beside me in the shade, too. And like me, they also opted to keep on
their T-shirts and shorts over their swimsuits. Thank goodness. What with my natural paleness and tendency to burn at least once every summer, no way would I be baring any more skin here. Besides, I wouldn't want to accidentally blind anyone today. Everyone else looked like they spent their lives in a tanning bed.

While Keisha and Vicki chatted about their families, I overheard bits of conversations from the others on the pier. I'd expected everyone to be chatting about the upcoming sophomore year and what being a Charmer would be like. Instead, all they talked about was boys, who was dating whom, which couples had broken up and which girls in school slept around. At first, it made me tense. How would I ever manage to fit in on this team when I wasn't one of the dancers and I'd never even been on a date, much less had a boyfriend?

But after a few minutes, I realized listening to the Charmers was like listening to thirteen Michelles all vying to share the best tidbit of gossip. That made me smile and relax a little. After all, I didn't usually know half the people Michelle gossiped about every day at lunch, either, but she was pretty entertaining to listen to.

I learned more in that hour about my fellow classmates than I'd ever wanted to know. Just wait till I could relay it all to Michelle; she'd be thrilled for weeks.

A low buzzing in the distance on the lake changed the group's general topic of conversation as five boys approached on Jet Skis.

I had to fight hard not to laugh as the girls changed their poses to ones they seemed to think were sexier, their hands darting up to readjust their bikinis and smooth their hairstyles. As if they'd actually had a single strand out of place.

When the Jet Skis were a few yards away, several of the girls suddenly found their conversation partners terribly funny.
But their natural giggles had changed to high-pitched, fake laughter.

Did I act that way around Tristan?

The boys pulled up to the pier. But no way could I keep watching the scene unfold and not laugh out loud. So I focused on Keisha and Vicki again instead, who had somehow gotten into a hot debate about whether wearing pink helped support sexist stereotypes. Judging by the conversation and the fact that Vicki was wearing a hot-pink bikini, it seemed Vicki loved the color and Keisha hated it.

“Hey, Savannah,” a male voice called out.

I looked up. Greg Stanwick floated three feet away from me on a now-silent Jet Ski that rocked with the waves against the pier. His black hair was slicked back from his grinning face.

He hadn't spoken to me in months, not since the day we'd met last spring. Why would he be speaking to me now? Especially when he had thirteen other girls, most in revealing bikinis, whom he could talk to instead.

“Um, hi,” I replied.

“Do you remember me? We met in the cafeteria a while back.” He flashed me a huge grin that begged to be returned.

“Sure. Greg, right?”

“Yeah, Greg Stanwick. So how've you been?”

“Good, and you?”

“Doing great. Getting ready to graduate next year. Still playing soccer.”

I nodded politely, wondering where in the world he was going with all of this.

“Is this party for something special?” His gaze flicked over the group then returned to me.

“Just the new Charmers and managers having a summer get-together.” I could feel several pairs of eyes staring at me.

“Nice. You're a Charmer now?”

The muscles in my shoulders tightened. “Nope, just a manager.”

He studied me for half a minute then grinned. “Want a ride?”

That made me blink. His grin stretched wider. I glanced over at our audience in time to see two other girls climbing onto Jet Skis with his friends. Apparently temporarily leaving the party was no big deal.

I'd never been on a Jet Ski before, but it looked like fun. “Uh, sure.”

I gave Keisha and Vicki a quick wave, then got to my feet and walked over to the edge of the pier beside Greg.

He eyed my clothing. “You got a swimsuit on?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Might want to leave your shirt and shorts here or they'll get wet.”

Uh-huh, still not happening. Blinding the guy by showing more of my pale skin before letting him drive us around on a fast-moving machine with no brakes was so not a good idea. “That's okay, I won't mind.”

He shrugged, put a foot on the pier, and dragged the end of his Jet Ski around until it was parallel with the wooden platform. “Your chariot, my lady.”

A laugh escaped me. “Um, how do I…”

He reached out, took my hand and placed it on his nearest shoulder. His hard muscle flexed beneath my touch. “Hold on and swing a leg over the seat.”

Once I was seated behind him, he shot me a grin over his shoulder. “Might want to hang on.”

As he started the engine, I had a sudden vision of myself flying off the end and doing a back flop into the water. The Charmers would laugh at me for months about it.

Wrapping my arms around his warm waist, I held on as the Jet Ski lurched forward with a loud gurgle.

I'd braced myself for a wave-jumping, crazy ride, but it was actually nice. Greg took me around the lake, pointing out houses whose owners he could name, plus his own family's house set back several yards from the shoreline. He stopped the Jet Ski about twenty yards from the shore so I could look at it.

“Is that your vacation home?” I didn't know much about Jacksonville High's senior class.

He had a great laugh, warm and genuine. “No, that's our permanent home.”

“Must be nice living near the lake all the time.”

“It's mostly nice. Though the water moccasins sometimes make our backyard parties a little too exciting.”

“I can see why. And is that when you impress everyone with your manly snake-killing skills?”

“Uh, no.” He twisted halfway toward me, his smile lopsided. “That's when my dog Jake impresses everyone with
his
snake-killing skills, while I run off screaming like a girl and grab a shovel.”

I laughed. Waves from a passing boat bobbed the Jet Ski, making my thighs bump his hips. Hello. We were sitting a little too close. Self-conscious now, I loosened my hold on his waist, dropping my hands to my knees instead.

“So…are you seeing anyone?”

His question startled me so much I nearly forgot and met his gaze full-on. At the last second, my gaze stopped at his nose out of sheer habit. “No. Why?”

“So I'll know if I can ask you out on a date.”

Suddenly I wished I hadn't answered him so quickly. Talk about uncharted waters here. If he asked, what would I—

“Would you like to?”

“To…?” I needed more time to think. Was I even interested in dating him? My friends all considered him gorgeous, and obviously the sophomore Charmers thought so, too. But he wasn't six feet tall with curly blond hair and green eyes I dreamed about on a regular basis. His voice was deep enough, but not that exact low rumble that made me shaky inside. Hanging out with him was nice, but he didn't make me yearn to be around him or know what he was thinking about.

He wasn't Tristan Coleman.

But he also wasn't in the Clann and off-limits. The council never said I couldn't date regular humans. And because he didn't make my body go all wonky when I was around him like Tristan did, being with Greg was easier, more comfortable. Like being a Charmers manager, I could take him or leave him. Which made him a much safer bet in case things didn't work out.

“Would you like to go out with me?” He had a nice smile. It made his brown eyes softer. But did I really want to go on a date with him?

“Maybe.” I was answering my question more than his. But once I said it, it seemed a good enough answer for both of us. If I waited for the impossible, I would never have a life. Greg was here. He was interested. He was funny at times and good-looking. Why not go out with him and see what happened? “Okay, sure. Sounds like fun. Now are you going to take me back to the party or what? They're going to think you kidnapped me. Besides, I think I'm starting to burn a little here.”

Eyebrows raised, he glanced at my arms. “Ouch, you're right. Next time, wear more sunscreen, okay? Then I can show you more of the lake.”

Hmm. Next time, huh?

Smiling, I wrapped my arms around his waist again and
hung on. And surprisingly, I didn't stop smiling until he dropped me off at Bethany's pier. Hanging out with Greg was a lot of fun. Maybe going on a date with him would be just as nice.

My smile disappeared when I realized how many pairs of eyes watched us. “Thank you for the ride.”

“Anytime. See you around, Savannah Colbert.”

I returned his smile, waiting for him to leave before I went to sit by Keisha again.

“Well,” Keisha said, as if that was all she needed to say.

It was enough to push me into explaining in a whisper, “I met him a couple months ago. I think he just took me around on the Jet Ski to be nice.”

“Uh-huh,” she replied, her eyes more than a little curious.

Vicki leaned forward to stare at me past Keisha. “Ha, I saw his face. He wasn't just being polite. Did he ask you out?”

“Um…” I really didn't want to answer that with an audience of gossipy girls eavesdropping. I glanced at my watch then the circle driveway, visible past Vicki, and spotted Nanna pulling up right on time for the end of the party. “Oh, there's my grandmother. I'd better run. See you two next week at boot camp.”

I jumped to my feet and said a general goodbye to everyone before making a quick escape.

 

The following week, Greg didn't call, of course. But I knew he wouldn't for one simple reason…I hadn't given him my home phone number, which was listed under Nanna's name. And none of my friends would give out my number.

I should have been upset about our date's delay. But running around in the sweltering hundred-plus-degree heat all week at the high school for the Charmers boot camp left me too tired to care about anything but cold showers and sleep
each evening. And when I could think straight long enough to wonder about Greg, I kept picturing him calling every Colbert in the phone book and asking for me. No doubt that mammoth ego of his was getting frustrated. The idea made me grin.

I wondered if it would take him until the start of school in two months to find a way to get my phone number, or if he'd just give up. How fragile was Greg's ego? And how badly did he really want to go out with me?

I got my answer that Saturday at the annual Charmers team slumber party to celebrate the end of boot camp and the start of regular summer practices. We gathered at the main gym in the high school's sports and art building, the same place where we had all auditioned for the right to be Charmers. I kept my gaze away from the side of the gym where the judges had sat. I still wasn't sure I'd made the best decision that day. Who knew if the effect from my gaze could have overridden the council representative's vampire persuasion?

But it didn't matter anymore. I couldn't change the past and was tired of even thinking about it. Better to think about the future and how to fit in on this team.

Surprisingly, it turned out not to be hard at all to fit in with the Charmers. The team traditions definitely helped, because the managers were included in all of them just as if we were actual dancers on the team. We received the same sterling-silver team charm bracelets as the rest of the team, with the same team logo, boot and star charms symbolizing our team goals. Our names were included in the bowl when everyone drew for Secret Sis game-day gift giving. We learned about the team's rule to call each girl “Miss” and whatever her first name was, and that rule applied to us managers, too. And when Mrs. Daniels played our team's theme song for the year, Luther Vandross's version of “The Impossible Dream,” I
wasn't the only one who got a little teared up by the emotional music.

Suddenly, tenth grade didn't look so bad.

After the ceremonies and gift giving, the team played a long game of pillow fighting while balancing on one foot. It turned into a tournament, and I nearly won until Keisha yelled out my name and distracted me. One surprise wallop to the head from this year's new captain, Paula, and I put my foot down and lost.

“Miss Keisha!” I whined, making everyone laugh.

“Maybe next year,” Captain Paula sang out with a smirk.

A loud pounding on the locked building's foyer doors made everyone jump and squeal.

Captain Paula ran to the gym doors, peeked out then yelled, “Pizza's here.”

“That's us,” Head Manager Amber said to the managers while climbing to her feet. Keisha, Vicki and I followed her out to the foyer, its linoleum freezing cold under my hot feet.

Wonder what we do if there's a fire?
I thought as Amber unlocked the foyer's glass doors in a blast of heat to let in the delivery guy.

“Hello again, Savannah, ladies,” Greg Stanwick greeted us from behind a stack of pizza boxes.

Stunned, my lips curved into a smile before I could think about it. “Hi, Greg.”

We each took two boxes from him. He stared at me throughout the process, making me feel a little self-conscious as the summer heat made my T-shirt stick to my back.

I should probably say something to him other than hello. Then again, Amber was there and I was on official Charmers time, so maybe I shouldn't.

“Okay, we'll be right back with the receipt,” Amber told him.

I gave him a sheepish smile goodbye and followed the head manager into the gym. While Amber had Mrs. Daniels sign the credit-card receipt, the rest of us set out the pizza boxes on the food table.